Method and machine for making surgical sponges



May 14,1946. c. w. MOTT 2,400,250

METHUD AND MKCHINE FOR MAKING SURGICAL \SPONGES Filed July 22, 1943 15Sheets-Sheet 1 May 14, c. w. MO'ILT 2,

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING SURGICAL SPONGES Filed Jui 22, 1945 15Sheets-Sheet 2 #1520642? or; (m-i 1 May 14, 1946. r

C. W. MOTT METHQD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING SURGICAL SPONGES Filed July 22,1943 15 Sheets-Sheet 5 May 14, 1946. Q w MQTT I 2,400,25 METHOD ANDMACHYINE FORMAKING SURGICAL SPONG'ES. I

Filed July 22, 1943 15 Sheegs-SheetA May 14, 1946. c. w. MOTT 2,400,250Y METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING SURGICAL SPONGES v Filed July 22, 194315 Sheets-Sheet 5 May 14, 1946. c. w. MOTT 2,400,250

METHOD AND MACHIN E FOR MAKING SURGICAL SI PONGES Filed July 22, 194: 1sSheets-Sheet a May 14, 1946. c. w; MCTT 2,400,250

' METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING SURGICAL SPONGES Filed Jufy 22, 1943 15Sheets- Sheet 7 (24am 4 i 1 May 14, 1946. c. w. MOTT METHOD AND MACHINEFOR MAKING SURGICAL SPONGES Filed July 22, 1945 15 She'ets-Sheet 8Mayhl4,1946. c. w. MOTT 2,400,250 METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING SURGICALSPONGES A Filed July 22, 1943 I 15 Sheets-Sheet 9 y 1946- c; w. Mo'rr2,400,250

METHOD AND momma FOR BAKING SURGICAL sroness Filed Ju1y22, 194s 15 t C.W. MOTT May 14, 1946.

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING SURGICAL SPONGES l5 Sheets-Sheet 11 FiledJuly 22) 19.43

' May 14, 1946.

WIIIIIIIIIII"\ III I c; w. MOTT 2,400,250

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR MAKING SURGICAL sronems I Filed July 22, 1945 15Sheets-Sheet 12' haenifi CZvr'Z WM 39 May" 14,1946. c. w. MOTT 2,400,250

- mm AND MACHINE FOR'MAKING sunu cn. sromms Filed July 22, 1943 15Sheets-Sheet 13 May 14, 1946. 'c. w. MOTT I 2,400,250- 5 METHOD ANDMACHINE FOR MAKING SURGICAL SPONGES Filed July 22', 1945 15 Sheets-Sheet1s Patented May 14, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Mn'rnon AND mcnnvnFOR/MAKING SURGICAL SPONGES Carl W. Mott, La Grange, Ill., assignor toHoward C. Riordan, Oak Park, Ill.

Application July 22, 1943, Serial No. 495,)85

'42 Claims.

that type of surgical dressing wherein a piece of absorbent materialsuch as cotton batting is positioned within aporous envelope, such as agauze wrapping, and for a machine for practicing this invention.

In surgical and dental fields there is a demand for an absorbentdressing consisting of a cotton center positioned within a gauze casing.This dressing is commonly called a surgical sponge and.

in certain applications is deemed superior to uncovered cotton battingbecause the casing of gauze is much less likely to adhere to whateverthesponge is positioned against. These sponges may be of various sizesbut quite commonly are substantially round and vary iii-size fromone-half inch to one inch in diameter. While the gauze is obtainable inroll form jthe centers'must be cut from a cotton batting rope and hencebefore cylinder of formation, each center is a small cotton batting. a

The broad object of this invention is to provide a method of positioninga cylindrical section of soft absorbent material within a swatch ofeasing material such as gauze in such a way that the soft absorbentcenter is compressed somewhat into the shape of a ball. A subsidiaryobject is to provide a method and a machine for practicing the methodwhich is capable of functioning rapidly so that these comparativelyinexpensive sur-' gical dressings may be produced inexpensively. One ofthe features of applicants method is the forcing of a cylindricalsegment of cotton rope through a ring or open ended thimbledisposed atright angles to the axis of the rope, whereby the cylindrical shape oftherope is lost. -As a next step, applicant forces the deformed centersection against a flat swatch of gauze which is lying next to arestricted opening. -The center section is pushed through thisrestricted opening carrying with it that portion ofthe gauze which itactually engages leaving on the first side of the opening the tails ofthe gauze. The means for This invention relates to a method of makincasing tightly over the centerv member. Thereafter the tails of thecasing are cut and the stitching operation is performed.

,Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved meansof feeding gauze and cotton rope into a predetermined relationship toeach other preparatory to an assembling operation. The stillness orstructural strength of gauze is so little that it is diificult to moveit rapidly step by step along a horizontal table.

.One of the features of applicants improved method of making thesesurgical sponges resides in the step of feeding both the gauze and thecotton batting rope downwardly into a selected r h p to one another andthen moving those portions of the gauzeand the cotton batting rope whichare to be assembled together into a single surgical sponge into ahorizontal position for performing the assembling operation. This methodof feeding the two textiles downwardly with gravity into a selectedrelative relationship to each other preparatory to cutting andassembling, dispenses with certain feed rolls, po-

of the free ends of the gauze casing to form the I ball may requireseveral x units of time. With pushing the center section into thisposition is then withdrawn and concurrently 'a pinching means is movedacross the opening so as to pinch together the loose endsof the gauze.This pinching member consists of a plate which is lying against anotherplate .in which the hole first mentioned' exists. I

By this arrangement of parts,- applicants ordinary stitching equipment,the stitching operation cannot be reduced to :1: units of time. On theother hand, each assembling operation is separated from the nextassembling operation by several units of time in order to provide timefor feeding and positioning the gauze and the cotton batting withrespect to each other. One of the features of this invention is theprovision of a continuously operating stitching needle.

method of assembling a surgical sponge is seen toconsist of an operationof forcing a center memberagainst a casing then squeezing down on thetails of the casing in such a way as to draw the Another object of thisinvention is to provide a new and improved means. of controlling thegauze wastage or tails during and after the stitching and final cuttingoperations, including the removal of the completed surgical sponge fromthe machine. In handling cotton or other fluffy textile material, it isessential that the working parts of the machines be kept clean of loosethreads and fiberscut from the main body of the material by knives. Inparticular, it is necessary-to hold the gauze which is about to be fedto the needle of the stitching machine, in such a way that a cleanstitch can be made adjacent to which a clean knife cut may be made. Afeature of applicants device 'is the employment of a small worm orspiral which catches the free with an assembling means. Broadly,applicantfeeds cotton batting rope and a band of gauze into a carriagewhich moves the two along parallel planes downwardly during a feedingstep. At the conclusion of the feeding ,step, the carriage rotates 90degrees on a horizontal axis, thereby bringing the planes of the twomaterials substantially horizontal. When they reach this horizontalposition the portions thereof that are to be used for a single surgicaldressing are immediately beneath an assembling means. By moving thecarriage from a horizontal position to a vertical position and back to ahorizontal position one cycle of the feeding and assembling operation isaccomplished. Additionally, in order to keep down the weight of thecarriage, neither the roll of gauze nor the supply of cotton batting aremounted.

There are many other features in applicant's invention. The variousparts of the feeding, cutting and assembling mechanism function inresponse to fixed pontlon cams, that is fixed with relationship to theframe of the machine. Another feature of the device resides in thetransfer table by which the applicant carries each assembled surgicalsponge from the assembling stagetoastitchingstageatanacceleratedspeedwhereby it is possible for the stitching step to be performed moreslowly than the assemblin step.

Inthe drawings:

Hgure1isaperspectiveviewofafinishedsur-. gical sp use of the typeProduced by amlicants machine -Figure2isaswatchofgauze;

Figure3lsasecti0nofoottonrope,thetwoflguresbeingrelatedinsizetoillustratetherespective sizes of the twoprincipal components ofapplicantssurgicalsponge;

Figure 4 is a schematic illustration showing theflrststepofpositioningasection ofcotton ropewithinthegauzeswatch;

li'igureSisthesecondstepofdrawingthe gauzefightlyarolmdthe sectionofcottonrope; Pigureiiillustmtesthepqsifioningofthelooseendsortailsofthegauzeswatchpreparatorytoasfltchingstepwhichisillush'atedinl 'igure'l;

igure 8 is a schematic view illustratin the position of the feeding andcutting mechanism atthebeginningoftheflistquarterofacycle;

Figure 9 is a schematic view illustrating theposiflonofthefeedingandcuttingmechanismatthebeginningofthesecoudquarterofacycle;

Figureloisaschematicillustrationoftheposifionofthcfeedingandcuttinmcchanismat thebeginningofthefliirdquarterofacycle;-ligurellisaschematicillush'ationofthe posifionoffliepokerdm'inflieasemblingopentimatthemiddleofthethirda dfourth quartersofacycle;

Figure 12 illustrates the last step of separating a plurality ofapplicants sponges by cutting away unwanted portions of a continuousstitch;

Figure 13 is a side view in elevation of applicants machine for makingsurgical sponges;

Figure 14 is a rear view partly cut away of applicants machine:

Figure 15 is an end view in elevation taken from the right side ofFigure 13;

Figure 16 is a rear view in elevation with the front plate removed ofthe feeding'and cutting mechanism only, that is the right half of thedevice shown in Figure 14;

Figure 1'7 is a view in section taken on the line l'|ll ofFigure 16;

Figure 18 is a view taken along the line Ill-l8 of Figure 17 andillustrates the step of cutting a section of cotton rope preparatory towrapping it in a swatch of gauze which is concurrently cut from a roll;

Figure 19 is taken along the line lQ-IS of Figure 17 excepting that itshows the device at that stage of operation where it is feedingadditional cotton rope and gauze preparatory to cutt n Figure 21 is aview of the conveyor table taken on the line 2I2l of Figure 14;

Figure 22 is a view taken on the line 22-22 of Figure 14.

23 is'a view taken onthe line 23-23 of Figure 14;

Figure 24 is an exploded view of the assembling mechanism;

Figure25isaviewtakenontheline25-25 of Figure 14 and shows the mechanismfor functioning the cutter between stitches; and

Figure 26 is a view taken on the line 2626 of Figure 25.

Tn: Soncrcu. Scone: m m Gzmuuu. METHOD or Forms 11' Referring toFigures1 to 7 on the first sheet of the drawings. the s r ical sp n e is seenin finishedformto consistsubstantiallyofaball. This ball is formed of a.square swatch of gauze, which is shown in Figure 2, wrapped around acylindrical section of cotton rope, which is ordinary cotton batting.The first step in forming a sponge is illustrated in Figure 4, wherein asection of cotton batting llisbeingforced byapoker I2 througharingoropenended thimble ll togiveitarounded shape. on leaving thetbimble, it engages the gauze swatch Ii and on continued upwardmovementofthepoker l2itpassesthroughanopen ing llinaplate 2|. Theopeningllhasanovate shape, see Figure 5. Beneath the plate 2| is a second orpinching plate 22.

Refen'ing now to Figure 5, after the section of cotton batting has beenpushed through the opening it only suiliciently far to leave the cornersof the gauze swatch depending below the hole ll, the poker I 2 movesback downwardly and concurrently or slightly following the downward,movementofthepoker, tbepinchingplate 22 movesto the ght closing the holeII. This forces the neckofthe gauzeinto thesmallendoftheovate opening22, leaving the corners of the gauze swatch, common1y called the tails24, dangling .beneath theplates 2| and 22 andbecauseof the action of theplate 22 directed outwardly away fromtheendottheplate 2|.

At this stageof the operations, the two plates 2. and 22 are moved awayiron the assembling sta- Figure 20 is taken on the line 28-20 of Figure2,400,250 tion shown in Figures 4 and 5 to a stitching or sewingstation. At the stitching" station the sponge-holding end of the plates20 and 22 lie adjacent to a worm shaft 26, see Figure 6, which engagesthe tails and tends to force the tails against the top surface of aplate 28. This action draws the gauze forming the tails tightly betweenthe plate 28 andthe end of the plate 20 so'that, referring to Figure II,a knife 3| severs the tails from the sponge. A needle 30 then performs astitching operation which binds together the loose endsof the sponge.When this has been done, it is possible to remove the completed spongeby rel turning the plate 22 to its open position, as m Figure 4, whichreleases the sponge. Similarly,

a the tails which are caught between the worm and The member marked 52is a transfer table, the

.position of which is substantially constant as shown. It is notaflected by movements of the carriage 40. Around the edges of this tableare a plurality of sets of assemblage plates such as and 22, heretoforedescribed in connection with Figure 4. Continuing to refer to Figure 8,

the two assemblage plates 20 and 22, so identifled by numeral, are atwhat may be described as the assemblingstation. This station is thepoint where the opening I8 in the plate 20 is in alignment with the axisof the opening through the ring 50.

The carriage 40 may be rotated around the axis 38, which as will appearin the commercial embodiment is a shaft fixedly positioned in the theplate may be removed from the stitching station with minimum diiiiculty.

The final step comprises a continuous stitching operation. Inapplicant's machine the stitching is done at a speed such that it willstitch onesurable that the stitching on the sponge not readily unravel,a stitch of the lock type may be employed.

Referring to Figure 12, the stitching mechanism makes a continuousstitch between each set of tails 24 25 and 2] and a pair of knives 34and 36 then sever the unnecessary stitching between adjacent tails suchas 25 and 21.

SCHEMATIQ PRESENTATION or APPLIcAN'rs MACHINE Because. applicant'smachine is not easy to understand by studying the drawings, and becausefundamentally its design is quite simple, it is thought advisable toschematically present the machine and describe it. After this has beendone, one can read the description of the commercial embodiment quiterapidly.

Referring to Figure 8, 36 identifies a gauze feed roll whose axis 38constitutes the center about which a carriage suggested by dotted line40 may pivot. The output of the feed roll 36 is fed between a fixedknife 42 and a movable knife 43 which are shown in closed position.Beneath the gauze feed roll 36 is a cotton rope feed roll 44 which ismounted .on the carriage 40 and is adapted to feed cotton rope betweenafixed knife 48 and a movable knife 49. The knives 48 and 42 are mountedon the carriage 4B and maintain a fixed relationship to each other. Alsomounted on the carriage 40 is a ring or open ended thimble 50. Mountedbeneath the open ended thimble 50 is a poker i2, which is provided withmeans for causing it to pass through the thimble and back out. Therelationship of the two sets of knives 42, 43 and 48, 49 andthe rate offeed of the two. feed rolls 36 and 40 are such that on one cycle of thefeeding mechanism, there will be positioned beneath and centrallythereof a short section of cotton rope and there will be positionedabove and centrally thereof a square of gauze such as shown in Figure 2.

frame of the machine. It is evident that by moving the carriage 40counter-clockwisa'the ring 50 as well as the knives and the like will beswung downwardly away from the assembling station which is generallyidentified by the numeral 54. For purposes of explanation, the positionshown in Figure 8 will be considered as the first position 'or theposition that opens the cycle of the ma- It will be assumed that thegauze is chine. manually fed past the feed roll 36 up to the edge of theknife "which is in closed position and similarly that the cotton rope 46is fed past the feed roll 44 up to the knife 48 which likewise is inclosed position.

At this moment, assume that operation of the machine is commenced. Onthe "first quartercycle of the machine, the carriage 40 movescounter-clockwise by 90 .degrees. During the first part of thismovement, the relationship of the gauze 31 to the knife 42 and of thecotton batting rope 46 to the knife 48 does not change because applicantdoes not wish to move either the gauze or the cotton battinghorizontally along a support. Applicant has found it desirable to movethe cotton batting and the gauze only when they can be moved downwardlyunder the influence'of gravity. ,When the carriage 40 has moved 45 todegrees of arc counter-clockwise from the position shown in Figure 8,the feed rolls commence to function. This functioning, however, occursafter the knives 48 and 43 have been retracted from closed position.When the carriage 40 reaches the position shown in Figure 9 which is 90degrees away from the position shown in Figure 8, the end of the gauze31 will have dropped well below the knife 42 and similarly the end ofthe cotton rope 46 will have dropped well below the end of the knife 48.

When this counter-clockwise movement of the carriage 40 has beencompleted, we commence the second quarter of the cycle of the device,

I namely the movement of the carriage 40 in a clockwise direction backto the position shown in Figure 8. The end of this second quarter of thecycle is illustrated in Figure 10 where the knives 42 and 48 have cutoff a section of gauze 56 and a section of cotton rope 58.

At this point, the assembling step is performed and it consumes thethird and fourth quarters During this assembling step, the carriage 40remains in fixed position while the poker i2 moves upwardly to force thesection of cotton through the open ended thimble 50 against the centerof the section of gauze 56, on upwardly through the opening [8 in theplate 20, leaving, as shown in Figure 11, the tails 24 of the gauzetrailing beneath the plates 20 and 22. Thereupon the poker l2 returns tothe initial position shown in Figure 8-while the lower plate :2 moves tothe right as shown in this view,

squeezing the neck of the. casing holding the absorbent material in thesmallcnd of the openeach other. The second quarter of the cycle may bedescribed as the positioning stage because the gauze and the cotton ropeare brought up next to the assembling means or adjacent to theassembling stage. The third and fourth quarters of the cycle may bedescribed as the assembling stage.

The remainder of the machine is devoted to. transferring the assembledsponges to a stationary stitching machine This is done by means of thetable 52, which carries means for moving around itself past theassembling station il a plurality of sets of plates 2l and 22, which maybe called assembling and holding devices. The stitching station isgenerally identified by the numeral ll and in applicants construction ison that side of the transfer table 52 away from the assembling station5l. The method of operation is to move a single assembling device ontoand out of the asembling station during one cycle of the machine andafter moving an assembling device which is carrying a surgical spongeout of the assembling station, to mov it comparatively rapidly over tothe stitching station. The stitching station ll occupies one side of thetabl 52. The assembling devices are moved slowly through the stitchingstation, the rate of speed being such that one assemblin device willmove by approximately its own width durin one cycle of the machine.Inasmuch as this side of the table has a length exceeding that of fouror five of the widths of the assembling devices, four'or five of suchdevices may be in this station at one time. IAS will appear hereinafter,the stitching operation occurs in the fore portion of the stitchingstation while the operation that cuts the excess stitching from thesurgical sponges occurs at the end of thestage.Itisatthestitchingstagethatthe worm 2G forces the loose tails of thesponges against the plate ll so thatthe knife which severs the tailstherefrom may more easil function and so that a fight stitch may bemade.

With the foregoing schematic description of applicant's apparatus inmind, it will now be possible to describe the commercial embodiment muchmore quickly.

Tm: Colman. llacnrn Theoornmercialmachinewillbedescrihedln an orderroughly paralleling the dwcripfion of theschemaiicpresmtatim.Thecommercial machimispresmtedinligureslBtoZti. Figurel3isafrontekvaiimofthemachinewhichisseentocompriseasupportingpedestalllanda baseplateltSuitablysuspendedfrmnthebase platellisasmimeofpowenbeinganelectricmotnnllwhichdrivesbyabeltllashaft'll supportingapluralityofpulleys.Thecqllipment 'mouniedmtheblsephtellmaybesegregated intothreegrunps.Thefirstgroupisthefecding and assembling group which '5 located to theleftoftheddtedline'll- 'lheseclndgroupisa Forll which performs theservice of transferring each sponge assembling device, as for example llfrom I an assemblingstation ll to the stitching station 60. The thirdgroup of equipment is the stitching equipment generally identified bythe numeral l2. v The power for operating all of this equipment isderived from the'shaft ll and it follows, therefore, that the speed ofeach group of the equipment will vary directly with the speed of theshaft Ill and that speedin up the feeding and assembly mechanism willresult in speeding up the transfer table and stitching mechanism. Thefeeding and assembling mechanism andthe transfer table are both drivenby the main drive belt The stitching mechanism is driven by the belt 86and a belt ll drives a worm mechanism generally identified by thenumeral ll for removing gauze scraps from the stitching mechamsm.

The first step in describing the commercial device will be to describethe feeding, cutting and assembling mechanism, that is the mechanismlocated to the left of the dotted line I! in Figure 13; In doing thisreference is first made to Figure 15 wherein it is seen that the maindrive belt ll, which was turning a large pulley l2 clockwise in Figure13 on a shaft ll, is also rotating 8. mitre gear 96 through a bevelpinion in a clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 15. The mitre geargaismounted on the end of a main drive shaft Referring now to Figure 14which views the entire device from the back, that is the opposite S drom lre 13.itwillbenotedthatthemain drive shaft Ill extends the entirelength of the mechanism through the feeding and cutting stage and isiournalled at its far end at Ill. There rests on the base plate 6i anoutside supporting plate Ill upon which is supported an upright U-shapedmember Ill, between the arms of which for vertical guidance may bepositioned a shaft Ill for carrying a spool of gauze I Il. ReferringtoF'igure 13, abracket IIZ supportsaroller'lll andapair of guides Illand III for feeding cotton rope Ill fromacanister llltothefeedingandeuttin mechanism.

The feeding and cutfing mechanism is showninFigures16to19,anditshouldbeunderstood that vF'igures 16, 18 and-19 areall views taken fromthebackofthemachine,thatistromthe samesideasFlgure14. Referringnowtolfiglne 16, the supporting plate Ill and thecomplementar plateIl5ontheothei-side,supportacrossshaftwhichwillbemlledthecan'iageshaftlll. The carriage shaft Illsupportsacarriage I26 and which consists of two plates In and I3l,seeFisurel'l. ReturningnowtoF'igme16,andrecallingthatthecarriagewhichwasschematica]-lyshowninFiguresltollbythenumberllistobeswungliodegreeaitwillbeimderstoodthatthecarriagelliwillbemovedfromitsposition shown in Figure 16counter-clockwise to its position shown in Figure 19. This movement isarmrndtheshaftlll.

Referringtol 'igure 16,themaindriveshaftIllisinfrontofthesupportingplate Illand itcarriesacarriagecamtraeklll.Thiseamtrackwhichiscircularwhenviewedendwisepeneh'atesaholelllinsupportingplatelllthmighwhichalsoproicctsarullerlllwhichismountedonanarmlapom'fionedbehindtheplatelllandpivotedmashaftlllmountedbctwemthe plates Illandlll.Pivotallyconnectedtothe upperemlofthelrmlllmashaftlllisalinktransfer-tablegmerall ichntifledbythenmneral 15 Ill which is pivotallyconnectedtoa shaft Ill mounted in the plates I28 and I36 of the carriageThe shaft I06 is turning clockwise as viewed from the left andconsequently when it moves 90 degrees from the position shown in Figure16, it will move the roller I36 to the left to the dotted line positionI68. In so doing, the carriage I26 will be rotated counter-clockwise 90-degrees around the shaft I26 so that it will occupy the position shownin Figure 19.

The means for cutting the gauze and the cotton rope at the right timeand the means for assembling the two all result from the operation a ofcertain mechanism mounted on the carriage working against cams fixed onsome part of the stationary frame.

Referring now to Figure 18 which is a view taken on the line I8-I8 ofFigure 17 the plate that when the carriage I26 is rotatedcounterclockwise as viewed in Figure 18 the roller I96 will at somepoint engage the straight edge 266 of the gauze feed cam plate 202. Thedistance of the roller I90 from the shaft I24 as seen in Figure 18 isless than the radius along which the curved surface I66 is shaped. It isimmediately apparent, therefore, that the roller'will move outwardlywith respect to the shaft I24, pivoting around the center I86 and in sodoing will draw the knife I68 awa from the knife I66 30, which, iscomplementary to theplate I28,'is

in the same position as the plate. I26 in Figure 16. This position ofthe carriage I26 will be generally called the sponge assembling positionof the carriage or the normal horizontal position of the carriage.Mounted on the shaft I24 is a feed roll I 50 upon which rests a spool ofgauze III! which spool of gauze is rotatable around a shaft I68, thereduced ends of which as- I66 are disposed between the arms of a pair ofU-shaped members such as I66, see Figure 16. The gauze feed roll I56turns freely on the shaft I 24 and.

is in engagement with a gauze drive roll I58, see

providing an opening through which the gauze 206 may be fed. It willfurther be understood that the means for closing the knife is a positivemeans, namely, a lug or bar 266 which as may be seen in Figure is one ofthe means for supporting one of the U-shaped members I56.

Returning to Figure 18, the triangular drive bar I86 is provided with afinger 268 at one of its corners and when this occurs, with the carriageI26 moving clockwise, the triangular drive bar I86 will be movedcounter-clockwise and pass the, knife I68 across the knife edge I 66performing a shearing action because, as can be seen in Figure 20, theknife edge I68 is sloped while the knife edge I66 is horizontal.

Mounted on the carriage I26, referring to Figboth Figures 17 and 18. Thespool of gauze is so mounted that, lookingat Figure 18, it will ,2

turn counter-clockwise in the direction of the arrow I66 over the feedroll I56 which moves clockwise, between the feed roll I 66 and the gauzedrive roll I56 onto a table I62. The outer edge I64 of the table I62 hasmounted thereon a knife edge I66which bears a fixed relationship to thecarriage I26 because the table I62 is rigidly fastened thereto, that isbetween the rear and front carriage plates I26 and I36. The relationshipof the knife I 66 to the carriage I26 is shown in Figure 20.

Referring variously to Figures 18 and 20, for performing a shearingaction in conjunction with the knife 56 there is provided a second knifeI 66 which is mounted between a pair of slides I 76 and I12 movablevertically on pins I16 and H6 which are rigidly mounted in a reinforcingblock I78 attached to the outer side of the fixed gauze knife I66.Pivotally mounted to each of the slides I16 and I72 are links I60 andI82.

The means for functioning the'two links I86 and I62 are identical sojust the link I82 will be described. The link I82 is pivotally connectedat its upper end at I66 to a triangular drive bar I66 which is pivotallymounted on the supporting plate I36 of the carriage I26 bya pin I88. Atthe point I 64 there extends outwardly a shaft carrying a -cam rollerI66. This roller I60 will be called the gauze feed cam roller. Referringto Figure 18, this cam roller W0 is to the left of the edge of the frontsupporting plate I 66, this edge of that plate bearing the numeral I62,although in Figure 18 we are actually looking at the complementary plateI65. Mounted on the plate I65 and extending to the left thereof is agauze I96 drawn on an arc with the axis I26 as a center terminating atthe point I98 which is slightly more than 90 degrees of are away fromthe poceives a certain length of gauze, which is controlled by meanslater to be described, and supports it preparatory to an assemblingoperation. It should be noted that Figure 18 is a view through thecenter of the feed mechanism at the level of the gauze positioningtable, referring to Figure 1'7, and returning to Figure 18, there is aslot 2 I 2 extending from the left hand side of the gauze positioningtable 2") inwardly thereof, so that it is possible to pass an assemblingmeans through the slot up through the gauze.

- The means for feeding the gauze past the knives I66 and I66 whichclose as the carriage I26 moves clockwise back into its horizontalposition originates with a gear m, see Figure 18, pivoted on a shaft 2i6 mounted on the carriage I26. This shaft also carries an arm 2I6 whichin turn carries a pawl 226 which engages the teeth of the gear 2M. Alsoengaging the teeth of the gear 2M is a second pawl, here called apositioned pawl 222, mounted on the front plate i3!) ofthe carriage i26.In operation when the carriage I26 moves counterclockwise, thearm 2I8which had been in engagement with a block 226 mounted on the sidesupport plate I66 moves with the carriage I26 around the shaft I26. Solong as the arm 2I3 maintains the same relationship with the carriageM6, the gear2l6 does not move. When, however, the arm'2I6 reaches thedotted line position 226, it engages the transverse support 226. Becausethe arc distance around the position 226 is less than-90 degrees, andbecause feed cam track I96 which has a circular portion the carriage I26moves approximately degrees, it is apparent that the arm 2I6 will berotated clockwise around the shaft 2I6 until the carriage I26 reachesthe end of its stroke. In so doing the pawl 22!] will rotate the gear2H5 clockwise and in rotating the gear 2I6 clockwise, it will rotate agear 236 keyed to the shaft upon which the gauze drive roll is keyed ina counterclockwise direction. Consequently gauze will be fed around thefeed roll IEIL. The gauze willnot drop down hetween the table I62 andthe roll 66 bepause the feeding operation occurs toward the endof themovement of the carriage I26, when the two axes

